Actually, 4 1/2 stars.

Adelaide Henry is a Black woman who escapes after her parents’ murders, taking an enormous steamer trunk with her to Washington. She ends up in Montana after taking advantage of some free land with a cabin, sight unseen. Funny thing, she is not alone and has a big secret and the reason why she fled after her parents were killed.

This historical horror tells about wide-open space when the West was still being settled where one could hide a horrifying secret. A secret that maybe too monstrous. If you love historical horror, this book hits all the dark spots. And yet, lovers of American history fiction will love it too.

This is a novel that gives you the “need to know” feeling from page one. This is a wonderful Historical Fiction with a bit of fantasy/horroresque!
Such a good book!!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

WOW. Thank you a million times over to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-ARC. Lone Women was absolutely a WILD and amazing ride. "Horror" done right! The pacing was steady and the characters well rounded. I wanted more, and will most certainly add this author to my "must reads" list! Formal review will be available on GoodReads, socials & Amazon.

This was my first foray into the works of Victor LaValle but it definitely won’t be my last. This was such a strange blend of historical fiction, mystery, and horror but it was done so well. I had no idea what was going on with Adelaide during the first fifteen percent. Once things started getting revealed, I was even more intrigued.

The only issue I had was that the pacing seemed to fall off in the last half. We go from primarily following Adelaide to having a few more perspectives introduced and it really slowed things down for me. The additions were necessary to flesh out the narrative, but it was a little jarring.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Random House/One World, and Victor LaValle for an e-arc of Lone Women in exchange for an honest review.

A 3 star horror x historical fiction. To talk about this book beyond the blurb would be to give spoilers, so I’m just going to leave it vague. I enjoyed it, I related to Adelaide although I can see how other reviewers wouldn’t be able to put themselves in her circumstances, and it was a fun, quick read.

From the publisher:
Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear.

The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, forcing her to flee California in a hellfire rush and make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will become one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can tame it—except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing that will help her survive the harsh territory.

Crafted by a modern master of magical suspense, Lone Women blends shimmering prose, an unforgettable cast of adventurers who find horror and sisterhood in a brutal landscape, and a portrait of early-twentieth-century America like you’ve never seen. And at its heart is the gripping story of a woman desperate to bury her past—or redeem it.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle is expected out March 28th, 2023 from One World.

My Thoughts:

Adelaide Henry is a strong woman. She's able to leave most of her past behind her, save what's in her trunk. Not that she doesn't have regrets perhaps, but rather that she is moving forward - taking positive action in light of what went before. Whatever is in that trunk though must be mighty important. But, it's for her eyes only. Dangerous things happen when other people open her trunk. I found the mystery surrounding the trunk irresistible.

I liked Adelaide and the other women she befriends out in the sparsely populated area of Big Sandy, Montana. Some of the other folks, not so much. They were sneaky and kept the dark side of themselves hidden for the most part. I especially enjoyed watching her friendship with Grace and Sam grow.

The pacing of the book was good. The building of tension and the twists was nicely done as well. I found it hard to put the book down. The ending surprised me in a good way.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. This blend of historical fantasy, western, and horror makes for a good read. You might also consider it as part of the weird western genre. I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy those genres or if you've read other works by Victor LaValle.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinions.

“A guilty soul is always troubled by its reflection."

Victor LaValle’s Lone Women is a masterclass in ramping up suspense until it reaches its apex. And what an apex it is.

Protagonist Adelaide Henry is a woman literally and metaphorically on the run. She seeks the solitude of the Montana wilderness, but soon realizes she can’t outrun her past… nor does she want to.

LaValle explores themes of identity, blood ties versus found family, and the ways in which systems are constructed to marginalize and oppress. The way that the mystery about the contents of Adelaide’s trunk is gradually revealed exceeded my predictions and expectations. This is a tale that I can see depicted on screen, which would be as visually stunning as LaValle’s text is striking.

If you want a book that will keep you guessing until the very end, Lone Women is definitely for you.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lone Women is the story of Adelaide Henry, who, after the violent deaths of her parents on their California farm, travels to Montana to make a fresh start. All she brings with her is a heavy, locked steamer trunk that carries a secret. The year is 1914, and Montana homesteads are being offered dirt cheap to those who can cultivate the land. Adelaide is a tall, sturdy, strong woman who is already burdened by the trunk's secret -- so building a new life on her new plot of land seems like something she is capable of. But she never could have anticipated the challenges she will face, the people who will come into her life...or what will happen when the trunk is opened for good.

Blending horror, historical fiction, literary fiction, and fantasy, Victor LaValle has created a vivid, haunting portrait of life in the western United States during the early 1900s. In gripping, atmospheric prose, in writing that is both literary and propulsive, he tells a harrowing story of survival and found family, a story featuring both the best and worst of humanity. Through a cast of diverse, unapologetic female characters, he touches on themes of feminism, racism, and wealth and privilege, exploring the idea of freedom in fascinating, inventive ways.

And LaValle does all of this in a narrative that is absolutely engrossing, that grabs you from its violent opening and doesn't let go until its perfectly-executed conclusion. At first I was reading just to know what was in the trunk, and then when I found out, this story went in directions I could never have predicted, with several well-timed twists and reveals. It kept me so engaged.

Lone Women is my favorite read of the year so far. It's flawless. One hundred percent perfection. No notes. Thank you so much to NetGalley and One World/Random House for the advance reading opportunity.

I love Victor LaValle and I look forward to everything that he writes. It is no surprise how excited I was to learn that the following up novel to The Changeling was going to be a historical horror novel set in the American west. I know that westerns and horror have been popular lately (see Death Head’s Press’s Splatter Western series), so I was really excited to see what LaValle would bring to the table.

I thought of the movie Airheads when the title was revealed, the 90s comedy starring Brendan Fraser and Adam Sandler. Their band was called the Lone Rangers, and someone made the comment of how can they be "lone" if there are three of them? I started this book with this same question in my head. How could they be "lone" if the title refers to "women"? It is discovered that "lone women" refers to homesteaders in Montana, particularly single or widowed female homesteaders who traveled to Montana to cultivate the land. Adelaide Henry shows up from California to stake her claim, carrying nothing but a steamer trunk that is almost too heavy to move. There are secrets inside the trunk. secrets that Adelaide and her family have spent her lifetime trying to hide. Now that she is out in a land of endless isolation and wind, the only thing that she can do is face her past and her secrets.

LaValle might be talking about “lone women” being those single homesteaders who are working the land to make a life of their own, but the “lone women” element also refers to the differences between Adelaide as an African-American homesteader and the way the white women in the nearest town of Big Sandy treat her and the other few minority women. The Reeds own the opera house and the entire town. Jerrine Reed leads the Busy Bees social club, and one of their commitments is promoting female ran businesses. One of the businesses is a new laundry service by Mrs. Metta Sterling and her son. The thing about this is the town already had a female ran laundry service, but the person in charge of that, Fiona Wong, happens to be Chinese. There is a fissure between the white women and the minority women in town. The minorities become their own faction, not only because they are are pushed away from the other women in town, but also because they do not seem swayed by the influence of the Reeds. These outcasts turn into “lone women” and band together to form their own close knit group. 

Lone Women does have enough different elements in it that keeps the story moving and interesting. This story is a fresh mix of not only horror but of mystery, adventure, and politics, but the freshness is heavily steeped in so many elements that are classic to horror. I love all of LaValle's novels. This is not my favorite one, but it is enjoyable and a very solid western horror.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t read much historical fiction (unless it’s romance) and this book mixes in another genre I don’t read often but it was utterly engrossing. I wasn’t familiar with this author so the novel was quite a surprise for me.

I was pulled in very quickly both with the overall story and the allusion to the mystery of what was in the steamer trunk Adelaide was taking on her journey. All of the characters and their struggles were compelling and some I’d thought minor or irrelevant played very important parts in the story.

It was a strange and unusual book — these are good things — and I’m glad I was able to read it without knowing much about it which made the experience all the more unexpected.

This book started so strong! I loved the gothic mystery elements and the strong female BIPOC main character. However, I think the mystery inside the trunk was revealed too soon. I wish the suspense would have continued past the first half. It would have held my interest longer,

Thank you Victor LaValle, Random House Publishing Group - Random House, One World and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC e-book. I really enjoyed this book a lot. I was a bit nervous diving in since I had heard talk of it having a sort of sci-fi esq vibe but I was pleasantly surprised and it was a great mild horror story. Adelaide is our main character who has drug her problems and baggage across several state lines in a hope to start over but fate has other ideas. This book depicted history and really not much was missed in that department and made the story come alive.

This is a well written historical novel with a bit of horror woven in. I didn’t give it a higher rating because, frankly, I think that the horror was superfluous and detracted from the story of homesteading and surviving in 1910s Montana. I was more interested in the women and other townspeople than I was the “monster.” Even more so after the latino (?) couple are introduced who seem to know what the monster is, and yet nothing meaningful results from them being in the story. I can only assume that “one of the most anticipated reads of 2023” is due to the author’s skills and previous books and not the story. It is well written and I did enjoy the historical part of the story, I just don’t think the “monster” was necessary to add in.

I love books in the Western genre, but unfortunately rarely see representations of those who are not old white men, or white women written as stereotypes. "Lone Women" by Victor LaValle is a breath of fresh air in this regard. Adelaide is a 30-year-old Black woman who decides to strike out on her own with a giant trunk with a mysterious padlock. The novel opens with her leaving her previous home in flames and heading from the West Coast to Montana. There, she procures a cabin and tries to make a life for herself. But whatever is in that trunk won't let her let go of her past.

I liked Adelaide's friends, Grace, Bertie, and Fiona. I also like the antagonists of the book, The Mudges. I felt like all of the characters were well-developed and empathetically portrayed. Without giving too much away, a trans character is also in the book and has a positive support system, which I rarely see in literature. I also really enjoyed the horror aspect of this book, as the tension at the beginning of the novel about what was in the trunk was really effective. Overall, I recommend this book to people who want a Lovecraftian horror without the racism.

This was such a unique read for me! I went in blind other than knowing it was horror. I think I built the horror up in my head to be worse than it was. This book was more of a gruesome mystery. When Adelaide says goodbye to her dead parents, she heads off to Montana with a little bit of money and a very heavy trunk. She is starting her life over at 31 years of age. This takes place in the early 1900's and the story was very atmospheric. I was having anxiety over the conditions for Adelaide! This was educational - I learned about this time period, while also haunting and exciting. I was so curious to see what would happen. This had a little bit of a paranormal aspect to it which I'm not the biggest fan of but it was actually interesting in this case and I enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle is a historical horror. Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her. Kept under lock and key, she guards it with a nervous eye because when the trunk opens, people start to disappear. It’s 1914 and she is in trouble. Her secret killed her parents and she’s forced to flee her hometown. She makes her way to Montana where she plans to homestead. She hopes that the big blue skies and the empty land will be room enough to hide her horrifying secret. Adelaide is one of many “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can cultivate it. As she makes friends with other women homesteaders, she rebuilds her life. Will her homestead be the place to finally find peace? Or will her secret be revealed?
Lone Women is my first book by Victor LaValle who is known for blending historical fiction with inventive horror and poetic prose. From the opening scene, I was intrigued by Adelaide’s actions. What could her secret possibly be that would lead her to flee from the only home she has ever known? When she arrives in Montana, she meets an eclectic group of people with secrets of their own. Some for evil, some for riches and some for self-preservation. There were twists and turns with every turn of the page. As secrets are revealed and Adelaide fights for her new life, the story takes readers on a strange trip. As I closed the final pages, I found it hard to describe this book. Overall, I enjoyed it. If you enjoy historical horror, I recommend Lone Women.

Lone Women will be available March 28, 2023 in hardcover, eBook and audiobook.

Ok. I do own a few @victorlavalle books, but I hadn’t picked one up yet until this one. And boy am I glad I did! Right from the start I was pulled into the story and found myself completely enamored with the main character, Adelaide. I have been hard pressed to find a female character that I really loved that didn’t seem artificial, but Adelaide is the total package. An absolute gem 🙌.

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“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥: 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵.”

It’s the year 1914, and Adelaide Henry is fleeing her hometown of Redondo, California, leaving two dead parents in her wake. Dragging an old steamer trunk along with her, she makes her way to Montana carrying a terrible secret inside.

Taking advantage of free land that the government is offering, she moves onto a small homestead where she tries to keep her secret locked safely inside. But one day it gets out, and a massive trail of destruction follows in its path.

“𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘸𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴.”

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Historical fiction meets horror in this compelling new book by Victor Lavalle. It starts off ‘on fire’ and really just stays at a campfire pace after that, basking the reader in its radiant glow. The beautiful prose and flawless progression of the story, really make for a highly engaging read. I have high praise for this one and recommended preordering, or grabbing a copy when it comes out March 28th 🤩.

Here's a fun fact about me as a person: I would have absolutely died in the old west. Like, no question. Adelaide finds herself alone, dealing with her parents' deaths, which she feels responsible for, and decides to leave for California and head to rural Montana. This, friends, is where I would die. On the way, likely. Or maybe when I got to Montana and had to like, live off the land. Either way, I was in awe of Adelaide from the start. Even if I high key was suspicious that she may have offed her parents.

Anyway, make it to Montana she does, for she is not me. But man. The author does an amazing job of showcasing how isolating the west could be in the early twentieth century! What did they do all day? Cry? I would have cried. Sure, she has to "cultivate the land" or whatever, but it was just such a vast, vast place with neighbors few and far between. Adelaide meets some people, sure. Some were the neighborly sort, who would I guess come by every 6-8 weeks and check that you weren't a corpse. Others... well let's suffice it to say that Adelaide encountered a few people who made her past seem like the least of her worries.

So the mystery is twofold: One, what the heck happened to Adelaide and her parents back at home? What is she hiding? And why is she so desperate to keep it hidden? The second is that this whole town (county, maybe?) is messed up. Like there is something here that just seems off. And not just because of the isolated wilderness, no, it goes beyond that. And that is all I will say about that.

The story is very atmospheric, and definitely kept me interested and guessing throughout. I loved reading about powerful women on the frontier, trying to make their way and prove that they have the strength and will to do anything. I did feel a bit distant to Adelaide, but that might be because she had so many secrets to keep. All in all, it was a good one!

Bottom Line: Surviving in the west on your own is hard enough, but with secrets upon secrets, things get extra wild, and I am here for it!

I received an ARC for this book. I was intrigued by the description. Adelaide is a black homesteader in Montana in the early 1900’s. She has left California to use The Homestead Act. She brings with her few belongings and a large trunk, which she does not want out of her sight. The mystery is totally unexpected. I could not stop reading the book. I found it mesmerizing and unforgettable.

great book and such great characters. I enjoyed the mystery and some romance. I also enjoyed the journey of the characters. I didn't know what to expect with this book but I enjoyed it .